Demons’ cool new field
Work nearly done on project at Ivan Head to install new field that will be softer, keep temperatures down
Santa Fe High got 12 good years out of the synthetic field at Ivan Head Stadium. Now, a new turf will take its place.
Santa Fe Public Schools Athletic Director Kristy Janda-Wagner said crews are putting the final touches on the new FieldTurf being installed at the stadium, which should be ready before the senior class’ graduation ceremony later this month.
The $1.5 million project, which began in mid-March, is in the final stages of installment. Workers from Hellas Construction out of Austin, Texas, were on the field Tuesday working on an end zone. The end zones will have “Demons” on the north end and “Santa Fe” on the south. Hellas was the company that laid out the new turf on Capital’s football field in 2020.
Santa Fe High head football coach Andrew Martinez said he likes the feel of the new turf, which has a much softer cushion to it, and the team should start summer workouts on the turf after graduation. The Demons will debut its new surface when they open the regular season in August against crosstown rival Capital.
“This is just exciting for the players because they get a chance to play on it,” Martinez said. “We’re grateful for Santa Fe Public Schools and their investment and support of our student-athletes.”
Janda-Wagner said the project cost was higher because of work done on the sub-surface underneath the turf. It addressed drainage issues, she said, and Hellas used different technology to rebuild to sub-surface that gives the field more of a spongy feel. She said Hellas also used a version of infill on the turf called “Ecotherm” that should keep the turf ’s surface temperature
30 degrees cooler. It’s a far cry from rubber pellets used as infill on previous turfs that often made the old turf feel much hotter when temperatures were in the 80s or above.
“It isn’t just a simple cosmetic replacement,” Janda-Wagner said. “You’re looking at the entire integrity of the facility from under the ground to above the ground. And you’re not just looking at one feature, you’re not looking at tears or just at impact [when players land on the turf ].”
The football team will not be the only one using the field. The Demons soccer program has used it occasionally for district and state tournament matches. Santa Fe High head coach Chris Eadie said the new surface will be far more forgiving than other turf fields his team has played on because of the improved cushion. He hopes that the practice field south of Ivan Head gets a similar treatment, especially since it is the home of the boys and girls soccer programs.
“I don’t think it’s going to flatten out like concrete like some of the turf fields we played on,” Eadie said. “When [Albuquerque
Public Schools] did the turf fields at the APS Soccer Complex, it was a night and day difference. When we had to play our [semifinal match in 2022] against La Cueva, the surface was like a rug over concrete.”
Janda-Wagner said the district is in the process of installing a turf field at Capital that will allow the football and soccer programs to use it as a second field, and that project should be done before the 2024-25 school year begins.